Journal of general internal medicine
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Review
What Constitutes Evidence? Colorectal Cancer Screening and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.
The United States Preventive Services Task Force is perhaps America's best-known source of evidence-based medicine (EBM) recommendations. This paper reviews aspects of the history of one such recommendation-screening for colorectal cancer (CRC)-to explore how the Task Force evaluates the best available evidence to reach its conclusions. Although the Task Force initially believed there was inadequate evidence to recommend CRC screening in the 1980s, it later changed its mind. ⋯ In declining to extrapolate in this instance, the Task Force underscored the lack of reliable data that proved that the benefits of such testing would outweigh the harms. The history of CRC screening reminds us that scientific evaluation relies not only on methodological sophistication but also on a combination of intellectual, cognitive and social processes. General internists-and their patients-should realize that EBM recommendations are often not definitive but rather thoughtful data-based advice.
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Lung cancer screening (LCS) for former and current smokers requires that current smokers are counseled on tobacco treatment. In the USA, over 4 million former smokers are estimated to be eligible for LCS based on self-report for "not smoking now." Tobacco use and exposure can be measured with the biomarker cotinine, a nicotine metabolite reflecting recent exposure. ⋯ Former smokers eligible for LCS should be asked about recent tobacco use and exposure and considered for cotinine testing. Nearly 1.5 million "former smokers" eligible for LCS may be current tobacco users who have been missed for counseling. The high percentage of "passive smokers" is at least double that of the general nonsmoking population. Counseling about the harms of tobacco use and exposure and resources is needed.
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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) penalizes hospitals for higher than expected 30-day mortality rates using methods without accounting for condition severity risk adjustment. For patients with stroke, CMS claims did not quantify stroke severity until recently, when the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) reporting began. ⋯ Medicare claim-based NIHSS is significantly associated with 30-day mortality in Medicare patients with ischemic stroke and significantly improves discriminant property relative to the Elixhauser comorbidity index.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Pragmatic Clinical Trial
Naloxone Co-Dispensing with Opioids: a Cluster Randomized Pragmatic Trial.
Although naloxone prevents opioid overdose deaths, few patients prescribed opioids receive naloxone, limiting its effectiveness in real-world settings. Barriers to naloxone prescribing include concerns that naloxone could increase risk behavior and limited time to provide necessary patient education. ⋯ Co-dispensing naloxone with opioids effectively increased naloxone receipt and knowledge but did not increase self-reported risk behavior.
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Anticoagulation poses unique challenges for women of reproductive age. Clinicians prescribing anticoagulants must counsel patients on issues ranging from menstruation and the possibility of developing a hemorrhagic ovarian cyst to teratogenic risks and safety with breastfeeding. Abnormal uterine bleeding affects up to 70% of young women who are treated with anticoagulation. ⋯ During pregnancy, enoxaparin remains the preferred anticoagulant and warfarin is contraindicated. Breastfeeding women may use warfarin, but direct oral anticoagulants are not recommended given their limited safety data. This practical guide for clinicians is designed to inform discussions of risks and benefits of anticoagulation therapy for women of reproductive age.